If you were to ask me what I think about Dogtooth, the last film from Yorgos Lanthimos and one of the strangest family portraits ever made, my response would probably vary based on any number of factors that are subject to fluctuation. It is a complex movie that gets a complex response, and I have both loved and hated it to various extremes. It’s one thing to just like or dislike a film, but the intense, dynamic response provoked by Dogtooth is something far fewer films ever earn.

That’s why I’m so excited for Alps, the director’s new film, in which Dogtooth actress Aggeliki Papoulia once again takes a prominent role. The film is about a service that provides stand-ins for the recently deceased, the idea being to help console grieving survivors. Or that seems to be the idea. Lanthimos has said that Alps is “darker and funnier [than Dogtooth]. It goes to each extreme a little bit more,” which is all I really need to hear. But with the film slated to hit the Venice Film Festival we now have an official synopsis and a few stills, all of which you can see below.

A Nurse, a Paramedic, a Gymnast and her Coach have formed a service for hire. They stand in for dead people by appointment, hired by the relatives, friends, or colleagues of the deceased. The company is called Alps while their leader, the Paramedic, calls himself Mont Blanc. Although the Alps members operate under a discipline regime demanded by their leader, the Nurse doesn’t…